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Chess forum by Grandmasters

tactics ninja

right now i am working with tactics ninja i have completed one time full course with using chess board and solving every position on chess board but not yet done the quiz. i had a idea in my mind that to finish this course 6 to 7 times with solving every position on chessboard and also quiz part later. do you think its too much or 2,3 times with quality is enough let me speak about my tactical goal i want my tactical skill like alireza firouzja so let me clear one thing i am not afraid to work hard i just want to know that if goal is like this and i am in my foundation years so 2,3 times is enough or 6,7 times is perfect with goal ?

Replies

Why not 4 or 5 times? :) I also finished the course last year and am going through it for a second time from the beginning, one section per day, as Avetik suggests. I'm already feeling a lot of value in repeating the material and may do the course another time (though I'll repeat Mating Matador first). I think at some point, if you're getting 100% of the tactics quickly, there will be diminishing value in repeating the course again and again and again and probably more value in spending your time on new puzzles and/or courses.

I think it depends - if you can do all of the problems within about 10 seconds each are you're getting them 99% correct you're probably better to move on. Perhaps a good indicator would be if you can see the solution yourself between the time Avetik says who is to move and then Avetik giving the solution - and you can do so without pausing the video - you probably know that position well enough and don't need to look at it further. I'd only put the position on a board if I was having trouble with it. I wouldn't move the pieces though until I thought I'd solved it, or I'd given up trying to solve it

Happy New Year 2023

Happy New Year 2023 all at ChessMood. May all our hopes & dreams come true & may we all have a happy & healthy new year in 2023 (on & off the chessboard, but especially on & over the board!) ;-)

Replies

WhiteMood Simplified Openings

Hi, The Pgn's for Chapters 6 Pirc and 18 Scandi Gambit won't import to Lichess as there are "Null" moves in the files which Lichess can't parse. Is there a way to fix this? Love the openings! Thanks Rob

Replies

The best games of December, 2022, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of December, 2022" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post the best games that you will play this month. 

The Prize fund is 350K MoodCoins which is equal to 350$.  

The 1st prize  - 150K
The 2nd prize - 100K
The 3rd prize-  50K
The 4th prize- 30k
The 5th prize- 20k

Good luck with your games and keep the Right Mood! 
#ChessMood
#Right Mood - Right Move 

P. S.
Here are the winners of November, 2022:

Andreas Sym
Marcus F.
Regis H
Amit Mishra
Ovi Sacasan

Replies

https://www.chess.com/game/live/63743361417

Thank you Chessmood....you make a difference!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/63775798915

A nice win https://lichess.org/ZUXhaI8Vh9H9

https://lichess.org/study/ao5G4QFV/BD5QnnCo (I am with black, Rapid, at the board game)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63858575749?tab=review Good accuracy with Maroczy, smooth win.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/63747041681 Sicilian small tactics:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/63745283243 Thats what happened when youre not focused on chessboard:-( and you relax(nice mate):-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/63726060449 One reason that you should play more longer-time games:-)

https://lichess.org/2RzvVj8c/black Good afternoon, I played very nice Schotch game today (OTB). Game is not without mistakes, I should play 13. h4! instead g4, so my opponent cant block my pawns expansion with Qh4 as in the game, but the biggest blunder came after 22... d4?? where I should trap my opponents Queen with Ne5 instead taking the pawn d4, that is really embarassing but luckily I managed to win the game. Hope you enjoyed the game!

[Event "Karnataka State Open 2022"] [Site "Mysuru"] [Date "2022.12.03"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Dhanush, Ram M"] [Black "Sriram, Kote"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C91"] [WhiteElo "1728"] [BlackElo "2105"] [Annotator "Dhanush Ram M"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.10.29"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "IND"] [Source "ChessEra"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. d4 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Bf8 12. Ng3 Bb7 13. d5 Na5 14. Bc2 c5 15. b3 Bc8 16. h3 g6 17. Nh2 Bg7 18. Qf3 Rf8 19. Bd2 Bd7 20. Ngf1 Kh7 21. g4 Ng8 22. Ng3 Bf6 23. Qg2 Bg5 24. f4 Bxf4 25. Bxf4 exf4 26. Ne2 Qg5 27. Rf1 f3 28. Rxf3 Kg7 29. Ng3 Rae8 30. Raf1 Nb7 31. Qf2 Nd8 32. Kh1 Qe7 33. Ne2 f6 34. Nf4 Qe5 35. Qd2 Nf7 36. h4 Nh8 37. Rg3 Rf7 38. Nf3 Qe7 39. g5 fxg5 40. hxg5 h5 41. Nh4 Qe5 42. Rgf3 Ref8 (42... Bg4) 43. Nhxg6 Nxg6 44. Nxh5+ Kh8 45. Rxf7 Bg4 46. Nf4 Qxg5 47. Nxg6+ Qxg6 48. Qh2+ 1-0

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63976227219?tab=analysis I'm white

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. f4 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 a6 7. O-O e6 8. a4 Nge7 9. Bd2 Bd7 10. Kh1 O-O 11. Qe1 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Bxd4 13. f5 exf5 14. Bg5 Qe8 15. Qh4 Nc6 16. Nd5 Bxb2 17. Bf6 Bxa1 18. Qh6 Bxf6 19. Nxf6+ Kh8 20. Qxh7# {Black checkmated} 1-0 played on ICC 90mins +30sec Timing

Its always nice feeling to sacrifice a queen ;) https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63688046289?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64152145895 very nice (what else:_)) romantic evans gambit:_)👨‍🏫

A nice win in scotch game https://lichess.org/gtjP9BE9JBEK

French, after watching too many tactic ninja videos https://www.chess.com/live/game/64175054615

17.e5!!? Sacrificing 2 pawns for great compensation https://www.chess.com/live/game/64176856583

French defense. I have been struggling to do well with French defense, but this was my first major breakthrough! Mated him just in 16 moves ! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64251710489

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64179746657 Budapest "almost-:)"gambit and complicated sacrifices like "Rashid Nezhmedinov style":-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64311054637 My opponent ask me for a draw so i agree,chess is a game for having fun doesnt bother win or lose and dont forget the fair play:-) merry Christmas to everybody :-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64314063769 Friday! the day of tactics:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64316985215 Blitz funny games:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64317012845 Fantasy variation:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64317067715 Two knights defence ,with Ng5 and a wrong answer:-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64327188105 Beautiful game in the pirc with a very neat tactic and amazing finish!

beautiful game https://lichess.org/NplcRt1D/white

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to play ChessMood's brilliant 7.Rxa4!! in the 2...Nf6 gambit of Scandinavian, and won a nice game overall, except for a moment where I forgot my opponent could exchange my knight on c6 😅: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63744108339

Model game https://www.chess.com/game/live/64509576373

A nice Win! in scotch game https://lichess.org/CYMYpzvH0KFX

Absolutely dominating!!!! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64669326007

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64707789973 good sacrifices and matting pattern!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64721529977 A solid Scotch game with a victory over a 2000 rated player. We went deep into the 8.h4 line.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64749748209 Dragon variation:-)

https://lichess.org/rrD4SFi4mziV Alapin variation Some sicilian funny blitz traps:-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64771427409 Dutch defense classical variation. This got me over 2000 elo in blitz on chess.com. Just 1 month ago I was 1700-1800. Chessmood openings are too powerful!

Another Dutch attack. Unfortunately no rating points on this but I still had great fun! My opponent rated 250 points higher than me. https://lichess.org/9xYwFvS7rFne

https://www.chess.com/live/game/64918318869 Another alapin variation and check mate with king went for walking:-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/65019662135 Beautiiiifull and romantic! French 'attack' exchange variation vs highest rated player I encountered so far - 2100 elo! Chessmood too powerful

https://lichess.org/7sf00PYeAQbc Rxa2 nice sacrifice to confuse the opponent.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/65077266481 Beautiful Checkmate whih is not often seen at 2200 rating!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/65077767171 A good clutch by me in the end although i became a dirty flagger in this game Lol

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65189383569 Funny checkmate:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65193666857 Funny checkmate part 2:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65193730941 Funny checkmate part 3:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65194244805 Very good game with a tougher opponent

Studying Spartan shield really paid off at the end of this game https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65211055267?tab=details-tab

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65265577039 French defense c5 variation:-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/65326172069 This 2200 tried to troll me it seems, but thanks to tactical ninja I found a great tactic which exposed his vulnerable king!

Nice try against the pirc This a kind of SLP game at the end 1 e4 d6 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4 g6 4 d3 Bg7 5 f4 O-O 6 Nf3 Bg4 7 O-O Nc6 8 Be3 Nd7 9 Ne2 Nb6 10 Bb5 Bxb2 11 h3 Bxf3 12 Rxf3 Bxa1 13 Qxa1 e5 14 Bxc6 bxc6 15 fxe5 d5 16 Bh6 dxe4 17 Rf6 Nd5 18 Bg5 exd3 19 cxd3 Nxf6 20 Bxf6 Qxd3 21 Qc1 g5 22 Qxg5+ Qg6 23 Qh4 Rfe8 24 Nf4 1-0

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65351383299 Nice -morning coffee -:-) e4-c5 game

I'm really proud of this exchenge sac! https://lichess.org/10Hgpm7C/white#0

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65366381365 Very funny checkmate 😀

one good antisicilian 2..e6 [UTCTime "16:45:00"] [WhiteElo "1977"] [BlackElo "2154"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "180+2"] [ECO "B23"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed"] [Termination "Normal"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 { B23 Sicilian Defense: Closed } 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nf6 6. Bb5+ Nbd7 7. Qe2 Be7 8. f5 exf5 9. Nd6+ Kf8 10. Nxf5 Nb6 11. Nxe7 Qxe7 12. Qxe7+ Kxe7 13. O-O a6 14. Re1+ Be6 15. Bf1 h6 16. b3 Rad8 17. Ba3 Nfd7 18. d4 Rc8 19. c4 Kf6 20. d5 Bg4 21. Bd3 Bxf3 22. Bb2+ Kg5 23. gxf3 Nf6 24. Re5+ Kh4 25. Rae1 Rhe8 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Bxf6+ gxf6 28. Rxe8 { Black resigns. } 1-0

This my best SLP game! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65431892321?tab=analysis

Attacked the Sicilian c5-d6-e6 setup with g-pawn charge. https://lichess.org/U73qnyqRryeM

Insane game vs Petrov defense, which I currently am a bit unfamiliar facing. But thanks to the saving lost positions course, I managed to pull a win off! Crazy game https://www.chess.com/game/live/65498605649

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65526213075 miscalculation?blunder? By the way good game:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65526769583 Classic game non-stop tension :-)

I think this is the worst game ever I lost my knight at the opening I did start SLP mode to get a draw after totally losing position https://lichess.org/HPVnjC8p/white#79

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65555034837 King hunting :-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65559133831 Smells like Tal:-)!!!!

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result "*"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 c5 4. g3 Nc6 5. b5 Nb8 6. Bg2 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. d3 e5 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. Ne4 Qc7 11. Qa4 O-O 12. Nxc5 Qxc5 13. Ba3 Qc7 14. b6 Qd8 15. Qxa7 Na6 16. Qxa8 Re8 17. Nd2 e4 18. Nxe4 Nf5 19. Nc5 Nxc5 20. Bxc5 Qg5 21. Qa4 Rxe2 22. Rae1 Qd2 23. Qe8+ Rxe8 24. Rxe8+ Bf8 25. Bxf8 Ng7 26. Bb4+ Nxe8 27. Bxd2 Ng7 28.Bb4 1-0 my over the board game

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65619246447 Nice:-) 🤠

2100 elo blitz French Attack Romantic Variation https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65625098183?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65628858237 Classic Evans gambit 😻

[Event "ICC 90 30"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2022.12.24"] [Round "-"] [White "laurenpar"] [Black "amicusUK"] [Result "0-1"] [ICCResult "White resigns"] [WhiteElo "1947"] [BlackElo "1846"] [Opening "Nimzovich-Larsen attack: English variation"] [ECO "A01"] [NIC "VO.08"] [Time "08:02:45"] [PlyCount "74"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. b3 c5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. g3 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 e5 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Bg2 d5 10. O-O Ba3 11. Na4 Bxb2 12. Nxb2 O-O 13. c4 Bf5 14. a3 Rad8 15. b4 Qa6 16. c5 Qb5 17. Re1 a5 18. Qa4 Rb8 19. Qxb5 Rxb5 20. Nd3 Re8 21. a4 Rbb8 22. bxa5 e4 23. Nc1 Nd7 24. e3 Nxc5 25. Bf1 Ra8 26. a6 Rec8 27. Ne2 Nxa6 28. Nd4 Bg4 29. Reb1 c5 30. Nb5 Nb4 31. a5 h6 32. Nd6 Rc6 33. Nb7 Nd3 34. Rb5 c4 35. Rxd5 c3 36. Bxd3 exd3 37. Rxd3 Rc7 {White resigns} 0-1

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65781191507 Bxb6!

French Tarrasch, Nc6 https://www.chess.com/live/game/65808159739

[Event "Rated Rapid game"] [Site "https://lichess.org/h4x9wAkz"] [Date "2022.12.17"] [White "kata17brzost"] [Black "mahalasapai89"] [Result "0-1"] [UTCDate "2022.12.17"] [UTCTime "21:44:08"] [WhiteElo "1822"] [BlackElo "1659"] [WhiteRatingDiff "-8"] [BlackRatingDiff "+10"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "300+5"] [ECO "E76"] [Opening "King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack"] [Termination "Normal"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. f4 { E76 King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack } O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. a3 e5 8. fxe5 dxe5 9. d5 Nc5 10. Bd3 Bg4 11. O-O Nfxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 f5 14. Bc2 e4 15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 fxg4 17. Nd4 Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Qf6+ 19. Kg1 Qxd4+ 20. Qxd4 Bxd4+ 21. Kg2 gxh3+ 22. Kxh3 Rf8 23. Bxe4 Rf2 24. Rb1 Be5 25. Kh4 Bf4 26. Bxf4 Rxf4+ 27. Kg5 Rxe4 28. b3 Kg7 29. Rg1 Re3 30. b4 Rxa3 31. Kf4 Rf3+ 32. Ke5 Rf6 33. Re1 a6 34. Kd4 Kf7 35. b5 axb5 36. cxb5 Rd6 37. Rf1+ Ke7 38. Re1+ Kd7 39. Rf1 Ke7 40. Re1+ Kf6 41. Re8 Bf3 42. Rf8+ Kg7 43. Rxf3 h5 44. Rc3 Rd7 45. Kc5 Kf8 46. Rf3+ Ke7 47. Rg3 Kf6 48. Rf3+ Ke5 49. Re3+ Kf4 50. Re6 g5 51. Rf6+ Ke5 52. Rg6 Rxd5+ 53. Kc4 Ke4 54. Re6+ Re5 55. Rh6 h4 56. Rh7 c6 57. b6 Re8 58. Rxb7 g4 59. Rc7 g3 60. Rxc6 h3 61. Rg6 g2 62. b7 Rb8 63. Re6+ Kf3 64. Rf6+ Kg3 65. Rg6+ Kh2 66. Kc5 Rxb7 { White resigns. } 0-1

Passini attack (missed e6 after Nbd7) https://www.chess.com/game/live/66240837379 Maroczy and the long diagonal (not the one you suspect) 😃 https://www.chess.com/game/live/65212185045 weird gambit game https://www.chess.com/game/live/66073469169 anti sicilian, quick KO https://www.chess.com/game/live/66066081669

An OTB training game earlier in the month (I was White): [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [Result "1-0"] [Opening "Trompowsky Attack"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nd2 Bf5 4. e3 Nbd7 5. c4 c6 6. Qb3 Qb6 7. c5 Qxb3 8. axb3 e5 9. b4 Ne4 10. Nxe4 Bxe4 11. f3 11 h6 12. Bh4 Bh7 13. b5 g5 14. Bf2 Bg7 15. h4 O-O 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Kd2 g4 18. Ne2 exd4 19. exd4 Nf6 20. Nf4 Rfe8 21. Be2 Nd7 22. Rh4 f5 23. Bd3 Nf8 24. Rah1 gxf3 25. gxf3 a6 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Rh5 Rab8 28. Kc3 Re7 29. b3 Rf7 30. Bxa6 Ra8 31. Bd3 Ra2 32. Bc2 Rfa7 33. R5h2 Ra1 34. b4 Kf7 35. Rxa1 Rxa1 36. b5 cxb5 37. Bb3 Bg6 38. Bxd5+ Kf6 39. Bh4#

I just sliped bishop to a6, and super SLP!! https://lichess.org/QF16ujDM/white#17

An online game I played on chess.com. I was White.

"Sacrifice when you think you have a decent chance"....GM Hohvannes Gabuzyan. https://lichess.org/6qQqex4LaIHw

https://www.chess.com/live/game/65993108519 Muccutcheon variation with very nice end:-)

A nice win https://lichess.org/XUIGzLU8u7YF

https://lichess.org/study/xejALumO Hello, I played very nice game in dubious Rossolimo kind of structure and finished it with very nice mating attack. With regards Petrosian64

Full scale attack on the first day of the month! https://www.chess.com/game/live/63659280147 Following the attacking princples! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64351908219 Capitalizing on strategic advantages https://www.chess.com/game/live/64851116405 I felt like being under pressure in this game.. but followed the opening rules and everything went ok! It was nice to see afterwards that I was never losing as I was afraid. https://www.chess.com/game/live/65375433605 Going for it! Development versus material https://www.chess.com/game/live/65779982647

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66038513189 French exchange variation:-)

I missed a few moves, but fun attack in the grand prix https://www.chess.com/live/game/66040285929

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66045194487 Funny checkmate 😂

Here is my game: https://lichess.org/kZiNpW3V/black#0 I am playing as black

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66081164929 Nxe5!!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66126724833 Good year to everybody:-)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66167401887 Nice bishop sac:-)

I love chessmood openings https://lichess.org/HndJdUXpd9SF

I'm playing with white https://www.chess.com/game/live/66213046485

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66219687455 Last game of the year:-) 😄

https://www.chess.com/live/game/66220297483 :-)chess playing is never enough:-)

I am black in this game.

https://lichess.org/study/km9dqBDL I am white, Blitz game

My last bullet game of the year. I have the white pieces and played the Chessmood Scotch, which I love. It's a miniature. Knowing the typical plans was super helpful for me here, but the finishing sequence was my favorite part as I found 3 moves I don't think I'd have found without the Tactics Ninja and Mating Matador courses. Thanks Avetik! (I promise I'll stop playing bullet... soon.) https://lichess.org/KDS3sBuT#0

My last blitz game of the year. This one was satisfying for the blend of attacking out of the opening, followed by defense against counterplay, winning material, surviving by giving some back, then converting the endgame by sacrificing my extra knight. Games like this make me feel like all the facets of the game are coming together to form a clear picture. Nothing brilliant, just a sense of improvement across all aspects of the game, with clear room for further improvement across all aspects of the game. https://lichess.org/ZoNbdRLD/white#0

https://www.chess.com/game/live/66291121399

https://lichess.org/R45fyUi7tXkt https://lichess.org/6o5IZq2D/black#0 I hope these are good :) sorry I'm late

Is it possible to post a game which I played today because January's forum hasn't started?

https://www.chess.com/game/live/66480140219 I am Black in this game. Sorry if I shouldn't have sent it because it is today's game.

Hello Champions!

It was the last month of 2022, and there were a lot of fireworks in the games we saw 😉 We enjoyed it every time we saw something explosive happen on the chessboard!

Let’s move on to the prizes for the month of December 2022. 


The 1st prize goes to Praful chess for the impressive 14.b6 and the queen sacrifice with 15.Qxa7 – What a move! Well done!

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=+iMNwub/98G4gkQbA1E4SyJwd4yWPBWc1a+WBAAZk2NdFK03fmdhB4y6TNOW2jBB


The 2nd prize goes to Keep Cool for this beautiful win with the Black pieces. What an amazing finish with 23…Nf2+ and 25…Rd1. Keep it up!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64707789973


Vladimir Bugayev wins the third prize for this game in the Caro Kann Exchange. Great finish with h4-h5-h6, and a beautiful Queen sacrifice with Qf6! Good job!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63688046289?tab=analysis


The 4th prize goes to Rubik Cubik for this fine attacking game. You gave a perfect demonstration of being patient and bringing all the pieces into the attack. Great play!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/64351908219


The 5th prize goes to Andreas Sym. A great game showing how to attack when the Kings are castled on the same side. Excellent buildup and a smooth finish, well done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/65265577039


Congratulations to all of you!

Thank you for so many lovely games, champions! Looking forward to many more amazing victories in 2023. 

Wishing you the right mood and all the energy to achieve your goals in 2023.

phantom pictures in calculation

Hello, and happy new year. i noticed one of my re-occurring mistakes/blunders. Somehow when trying to "calculate" certain lines I ``see" pieces at 2 places somehow and blunder, I found it is called ``restbild" or "shadow pictures" or similar. Sometimes lines become more complicated then needed or I just do (or not do) another move, assuming that pieces are still at their place. For example in this position from a longer OTB game with black I had thought that Kg6-Kf5-Kxe5 does not work because of Kg6-Nf3+ Kf5 Nd4 that I would loose the e6 pawn as the night would be on f3 defending e5 and at the same time on d4, forking my king and the e6 pawn. So I played Bg5 .. Anyway, I guess I am not alone with this. But are there particular ways of trying to reduce such fake shadows from the opponent or the own side? Grateful for any tipps.

Replies

Here's my idea: When solving tactics puzzles, try writing down the entire solution before checking it. That will encourage you to accurately track where the pieces are, particularly if some pieces move more than once in the solution. It might help to solve more endgame puzzles, because there are fewer pieces so the chance of a piece moving multiple times in the solution is higher.

Dutch Stonewall or normal development?

Just a quick question. In the Dutch after 1.d4 e6 2.e3 f5 3. Be2 should we aim for the stonewall as white intends Bf3 to challenge the h1a8 diagonal?

Replies

How about delaying the decision with Nf6 ? If they go 4.Bf3 then answer d5 with Stonewall, but if they go 4.Nf3 you can think about playing b6 and Bb7.

Sedlak in his Dutch how to play book notes that stonewall's biggest strength is suppressing the bishop on g2, therefore in chapter 1 he advises more or less same plan as Peter below, that if white goes for a g3-less system, black should also adapt and not play stonewall, but closer to nimzo/QID formation with b6+Bb7+ if allowed, Bb4 to remove knight on c3.

positive stress level, when playing concentrated.

Hello, being now a retired researcher physicist (since 2 years) and having time to re-learn again chess (after a break of almost 40 years) and other sports. Anyway, when "asking" the why (I want to improve in chess) question I am always a little confused (well it is related to the "how" are things and not ``why" is the universe like it seems to be ..one of the first things I learned in school from my first physics teacher.. ). So in any case it was the "fun" of finding things out and improve the understanding and doing better which motivated research and some self introduced stress. So I believe that it is this my ``why" in chess as well, or perhaps more precise the enjoyment of being somewhat stressed by playing and improving chess. So the process itself and that it is still possible after retirement (and being 67 years in a few days) and for a "few" more years. By chance i watched this youtube video today and thought it would be time to share these thoughts on the forum. In short as I understand it, the best motivation internal dopamine comes under some kind of internal stress when being concentrated on a certain activity. This video might be interesting for many chess learners.. https://youtu.be/1TSTnDRnIAs Another aspect in this was a test with a garmin sport watch measuring heart rate and variability (yes I try to do biking, cross country skiing (with both better technique compensates for the "age" and now less and less running because i slow down ..😀. ). Thus was curious and tested it during an OTB Blitz tournament (early December) in my club and in a club long game (i asked my opponent before, I think such connected watches are not allowed in tournaments normally. Be careful in case you try). Ok, somewhat surprisingly both tests showed a stress level similar when playing intense chess or biking or running. May be some of you want to try. I will soon make the experiment with 1h intense chess training when following a chessmood video ..😀

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Ninja Quiz #111

Who would play g8QB just to get a won N+BvK checkmate when Queening gets the much easier to win skewer with the Queen? I tried Queening several times and was always "wrong". There's no stalemate with the Queen move, so how can that be wrong?

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There is a stalemate with black playing Kd2.

As Peter said, you need to avoid the stalemate by promoting to a Bishop.

Hedgehog Attack!

Magnus knows his classics and played this wonderful game in the World Rapid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlineHLpvLo The relevant ChessMood classical games: https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games/episode/1636 https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games/episode/1635

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Thanks Peter, I have not had much time to check the games of the World Blitz and Rapid but I love your post!!!😍

Nice of you to post this game analogy! Happy New Year and lots of FIDE points to 😀you!!!

Dutch vs London - Be2 and Bd3?

**re-posted to correct previous errors** First of all I want to say ChessMood is fantastic. I wish I'd have found this site a year ago when I first started - it provides a progressive way of building up skills and in the case of openings, doesn't assume a GM level of knowledge and explains PLANS for the middlegame. Thanks to the team for creating such a great resource! I just started the BlackMood starter and started with the Dutch. My question relates to the London System - the London was the first opening I learned as white. I don't play it now, but the system I learned via various Youtube videos and a course on another site included the white bishop being placed on d3, in the middle of the triangle of pawns. However, the DutchMood starter repertoire says Be2 is the most common move in the London. This seemed strange to me given the above and prior experience as black against the London, though I've never played the Dutch against it. Doing some investigation, after 1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 it appears the top 3 most popular moves by White with Lichess set to 1000 to 2000 level are: 1st - 5. Bd3 2nd - 5. Nbd2 3rd - 5. Be2 If I change the setting to 1800-2000 it appears Bd3 and Be2 are roughly equally common. In master games, Be2 is most common (49 games), but Bd3 is second and there's not a huge difference (32 games). So it appears according to Lichess that Bd3, compared to Be2, is more commonly played at lower levels, about equally at around 2000, and less but still reasonably often by masters. Just wondering if a video or chapter might be planned to be added to the course for white playing a Bd3 setup? If not, does white playing Bd3 prevent us from playing any plans given in the course? Thanks a lot! :)

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Bd3 is not a critical move with our Be7 fianchetto, we play Ne4 anyways.

You can see this thread for more info. There is a video explanation included and this position happens a lot in the speedruns that we do on the events, if you watch them you will find many cases of London with Bd3.

Check it out:

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/dutch-attack-vs-london-bd3-question

Happy New Year!

New article: Why I always try to be a beginner

Can you be a master and a beginner at the same time? 
What about Grandmaster-beginner? 😊

The answer is not only you can, but it's a huge advantage! 

Check out Grandmaster Noel Studer’s article about the power of a beginner's mind 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/beginners-mind

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I found many coaches that only want to cash in. Being a chess coach means prepare the lessons, knowing the pupils repertoire, knowing his caracter and model his style and repertoire according to It and so on. About being far from the beginners mind, is related to feel their self-steem attacked. This is a mediocre mind set that reflects a complete lack of talent. So is losing ones time with these type of people because smart guys are always eager to learn, in chess and in Life.

Thanks for this informative article. I could relate to the mentioned scenarios. From now on, I will 'try to be a beginner' as well.👍

Sound principle. I'm a Zen student too so I fully believe in this!

Donate Mood Coins To Give A Poor Player A Chessmood Membership

I believe it would be awesome if Chesmood members would each give a few Mood Coins and accumulate a membership to sponsor an aspiring chess player that cannot afford one. I'm sure Avetik or Hohvannes, maybe Lili would know someone who could benefit and make it possible. It would also make Chesmood look really good to the world. I would be first in donating if Avetik would warm up to the idea. Anyone else? Cheers!

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Middle->Endgame

I've noticed most of my blitz losses are around this point. Opening mostly fine, endgame great, but towards the end of the middlegame are where the problems leading to losses occur. This also includes tactical errors (perhaps due to being overloaded and running short of time here). Suggestions for training here?

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To some extent I think this is fairly natural. As we learn our openings, and get stronger in general, the critical mistakes come later in the game. Probably you're right about being short of time too. It's simply harder to track all the tactical relationships between the pieces accurately as the pace of play increases. One thing you could try is to extract positions where you've made tactical errors from your games and put them into a custom Chessable "course". I haven't done much of that, but I have been using their custom course feature for something else and it's pretty straightforward for anyone with moderate IT skills. Training easy tactics daily, minimum 15min (often more) is what I do, definitely helps with blitz and should help with your specific issue. A lot of it simply comes down to seeing the basics super quickly. Again, I use Chessable for this because I believe there is value in repeating problems to speed up pattern recognition. I also like Timed Puzzle Rush on chess.com. Also, there is the general approach to the practicalities of blitz. A good enough move played quickly is often better than the best move played slowly. Where "good enough" means a non-blunder that somehow improves your position. If it builds pressure on your opponent, or even caries a threat, all the better. But above all else it shouldn't be a bad mistake. Even at the 2300 level players will go wrong soon enough if you can just keep making moderately decent moves quickly. Finally, I've come to believe that when reviewing blitz games we should always go through the entire game without the engine first. Add a few comments and try to find improvements this way, forcing yourself to think. Only once this is done should the engine be used to check things and add further insights. Anyways, talk is cheap. I have an aggressive goal for my own blitz rating in 2023, so let's see if I can follow my own advice and see whether it actually works.

Grand Prix Attack Interesting Line

Hi! I have a question on the line 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. 0-0 Nge7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 and 8...a6 forcing us to take, and in Anish Giri's Najdorf course he gives the line 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Ne7 11. f5 gxf5 12. exf5 and 12...e5 and claims that Black has a wall in the center, and will finish development with Qc7 and Rg8 to come. He also wants to potentially castle long. My engine says triple zeroes. What does GM Avetik think about this?

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The idea of an opening is to get a playable middlegame. We cannot always have an advantage. I think in a case such as this we need to think of our middlegame plans and prepare for a hard fight. I'm certainly not a very strong player so I couldn't advise specifics here - but I question as to how often you expect to play against this line.

There is a mistake in the line you posted. After 6.O-O it is not legal for black to play Nge7.

Hey!

In the line you are asking about I like the option of Nf3 and if Qc7 than Bb3. The position is very practical and interesting for both sides. White has some good lines and diagonals. I would locate Queen on e2 and bring the Rook a1. Of course, it's concrete and depends on the opponent's moves as well.

How much years have you all played chess?

I played for 4 and a half

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one year my elo is 1600

I started playing chess during COVID lockdown

I played chess for 4 years

I learned the moves as a nine year old and am now 51, but I wouldn't say I 'played' for all those years. For most of them I have been fumbling around in the dark. Javing fun, but still reinforcing bad habits and falling over my feet. Now I have a wee stubby candle and am making slow, slow progress.

I started playing chess during the COVID lockdown online as a leisure activity. But I became so interested in the sport that I started playing in OTB tournaments as well.(once the lockdown was lifted)

Modern Defense with 3...a6

I ran into this line recently: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 a6 planning 4...b5. Looks like this move order sidesteps our Pasini variation because 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 a6 4.Be3 b5 5.g4!? b4 is a bit annoying. Stockfish prefers 5.h4 or 5.Qd2 but I haven't dug into the lines yet. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this variation.

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Hey! Sorry for the late reply. 
You can go 4.g4!? without Be3

And theoretically speaking 4.f4 is the strongest answer vs 3…a6 
 

100 classical masterpieces game 48

in reference to the best answer to the 1.b4 opening or to the nimzo-larsen opening (2.. Bg4), Eric Hansen played it also recently : https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2438296

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Duras gambit

Hello comrades! Is there any effective way to refute the Duras gambit? I know it is very dubious and I even laughed at the player at our chess club who told me he would play it against me, but then I just got crushed. I tried playing it the same way we play against the Colorado, but it didn't work out. Would be awesome if someone told me how to refute this dubious opening :)

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Just take the pawn for example 1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 c5(Since it is a pseudo-attacking opening all one mover threats) 5.c3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4(More aggression)7. Nh4 Nd6 8. 0-0! cxd4 9. Nxd4 Re1 We gave back the pawn but we have a huge initiative and the engine gives +4 to +5.

I also would play the same line as A D but my preparation finishes sooner.

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 d5? 3.Qh5

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 There is no compensation here for Black c5 5.c3

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 There is no compensation here for Black Nc6 5.Nf3

I do not think that you should remember anymore, just take the pawn and keep it with d4 Bd3.
💪This is all you need as opening preparation for this, nothing more. 😀

Strategy not to loose such endgame

https://lichess.org/study/GA3NmSKO/374vaUe4 My game against FM, 2205. I knew that endgame is a bit worse for black, but it is not lost. I misplayed it. It was time pressure and Rapid. But can you give some suggestions to loose, what I was doing wrong in endgame (beside very concreate 29...c5 was bad).

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The point of the exchange Lopez is White can get a passed pawn, Black cannot. Black should be looking to keep pieces on, even though c5 might have been a mistake, it's probably more the strategy at fault which means small errors get amplified, especially as knight endgames are somewhat like pawn endgames.

I guess you knew it, but Qf7 seems to play directly into the hands of an Exchange Ruy player. For the endgame, you have more activity at move 21 so I'd be looking to use that activity to somehow keep white contained. The engine points out that 23...Nb4 was good. Probably you were worried about the trapped knight after 24.c3 Nxa2 but it turns out b5-b4-b3 saves the day. As a general strategy in this endgame I'd be looking to: - keep my superior king position - gain space on the queenside by advancing my pawns there. - un-double the c-pawns if the opportunity presents itself Not so easy for sure.

Feeling Unfocused---How to remedy?

Hello ChessMood Friends! At times I experience the feeling of being unable to focus---like being on autopilot while playing and unable to actually think---and It is hard to actually try my best while playing. Any suggestions on how to counter these feelings?

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My suggestion is to annotate some of your recent games. When annotating the games, try to spend a decent amount of time without an engine otherwise it'll just be a Stockfish regurgitation exercise :-). As well as looking for clear mistakes, look for alternative approaches and hidden possibilities. Last but not least, publish the games in a blog and/or by posting them here. That keeps the whole exercise real as you know other people will be reading what you write.

Hi Brody, I think Avetik explained this nicely in Blunderproof course hyperfocused chapter https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof/episode/4427

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